The Impact Of A Torn ACL On An NBA Player

The pain was bearable, but Al Jefferson still had tears in his eyes. One night after he injured his knee after a routine block, Jefferson sat inside a doctor’s office; his season was over and he wondered if his career was too.

It was February 8, 2009, when Jefferson, then a member of the Timberwolves, swatted a dunk attempt by Sean Marks, the current general manager of the Nets. Jefferson landed awkwardly on his right knee, hopped nine times on his left foot, and collapsed to the hardwood.

“What happened was, I went up and blocked a shot, I blocked it on the backboard and threw my body off so I came down wrong,” Jefferson told Hoops Rumors in February during a Pacers shootaround in Brooklyn. “I heard [my ACL] pop, as soon as I hit the ground. I was like ‘Oh, s**t!’”

Jefferson said he wanted to return to the game, but with 27 seconds left, it wasn’t worth risking further injury. In reality, Jefferson’s injury was as serious as it gets.